Intraocular lenses (IOLs) typically are implanted within a patient's eye during cataract surgery when the natural crystalline lens of the patient's eye has become clouded due to formation of cataracts, or is otherwise in need of replacement to compensate for lost optical power of the natural lens. In the past, such IOLs have included monofocal IOLs in which light from distant objects is focused onto the retina to improve distance vision (although for nearer objects, patients implanted with such monofocal IOLs often still have to use reading glasses for correction of vision for close up or nearer objects), and more recently accommodating IOLs have been developed, which are designed to adjust the patient's vision in response to natural accommodative forces resulting from the contraction and expansion of the muscles of the ciliary body of the patient's eye. However, it has been difficult to provide consistent continued accommodation of such IOLs over time, especially in patients with astigmatism. As the capsular bag regrows and “shrink wraps” the IOL, the accommodative forces applied to the IOL can become lessened, thus reducing the effectiveness of the IOL in correcting the vision of the patient. It is also often difficult to ensure consistent and accurate placement of such IOLs, especially with unknown capsular bag and/or capsulorhexis sizes. Other types of IOLs further have been developed including haptic elements that can engage or be implanted into ciliary body portions of the patient's eye.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for an enhanced accommodative IOL that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.